So let’s concentrate on something different for a change. Let’s talk about summer, more specifically the summer of 2010.
I really don’t know which was worse, the heat wave Toronto experienced back then, or the ice cold days we’re having now.
I always said that I prefer the cold, because at least I can dress for that. During the heat wave of 2010, I didn’t know what to do with myself. The temperature was a whopping 45 degrees C (113 degrees F) and everything I wore was too much.
The heat was bearable while there was air-conditioning, but when the chiller malfunctioned in the condo building where we live, everything changed.
July 3rd it was and within a matter of hours our cool condo became a hot sauna. When management told us that it could be days before the chiller was replaced, residents rushed en mass to Wal-Mart to buy fans.
We had two, a small and a medium one for the bedrooms, but we needed a big one for the living room.
The fan Dieter came home with wasn’t just big, when we switched it on the thing sounded like a jet about to take off and nearly blew us away. It was lovely though and I was almost permanently glued in front of it.
Don’t for a moment imagine that it was easy. Even with three fans in the house, a wet towel around my neck and my feet in cold water, I still suffered from the heat.
Of course, I wasn’t the only one. People were fainting in their units and one man installed a window air-conditioner because his mother had suffered a heart attack and couldn’t cope with the sudden heat.
When after three long days, the temperature went down to 32 degrees C (89.6 degrees F) we breathed a sigh of relief. It was still hot, but there was a noticeable difference.
Eighteen days we were without air-conditioner and when we finally got word that the new chiller was installed and operational, there were cheers of joy from the ground floor all the way up to the 17th floor.
It’s hard to say which is worse … too cold, or too hot. As my dad used to say, anything with the word ‘too’ in front of it is no good. Too far, too high, too deep, too soon, too full … going to extremes is bad news.
I couldn’t agree more.